Tim Duncan

June 16, 2014 Q: Same strategy; same results. Even you have to admit this series was not a good one for Erik Spoelstra. Yes the Spurs were better in every way, but the "Heat way" of doing things was exposed. -- Mack. A: I honestly think with Chris Andersen a step slow, still clearly bothered by that thigh bruise sustained against the Pacers, with Dwyane Wade a shell of what he was the previous round, there wasn't much more Erik could have done, other than try to get the very best out of LeBron.

It is a memory LeBron James undoubtedly won't want to cling to. But the historic impact of the jersey the Heat forward wore in Game 1 of the 2014 NBA Finals, the night he was forced out with cramps, was worth $50,020 to a collector who submitted the winning bid Tuesday with NBA Auctions. Curiously, it was the red jersey James wore only in the first half of the Finals opener at San Antonio. With a power failure knocking out the air conditioning at the AT&T Center, James experienced severe cramping that sidelined him for most of the fourth quarter, including the final 3:59.

Chris Bosh made sure to correctly answer the question. He recently was asked what it was like being a teenager the first time he watched Tim Duncan play in the NBA. Bosh, the Miami Heat center, remembered it differently. He had yet to reach his teenage years. "Not to make him feel old, I might not have been a teenager," Bosh said. "I might have been a preteen. " When the Heat play the San Antonio Spurs and the 36-year-old Duncan Thursday, it will mark yet another vintage yet still effective player they will face.

June 16, 2014 Q: Same strategy; same results. Even you have to admit this series was not a good one for Erik Spoelstra. Yes the Spurs were better in every way, but the "Heat way" of doing things was exposed. -- Mack. A: I honestly think with Chris Andersen a step slow, still clearly bothered by that thigh bruise sustained against the Pacers, with Dwyane Wade a shell of what he was the previous round, there wasn't much more Erik could have done, other than try to get the very best out of LeBron.

Gregg Popovich didn't want to talk about milestones, not on this night. Neither, for that matter, did his power forward who on Thursday became the both all-time NBA playoff leader in minutes played and in playoff double-doubles. After the Spurs' 107-86 Game 4 win over the Heat gave San Antonio a 3-1 edge in the best-of-seven NBA Finals, Tim Duncan was more interested in looking forward than reflecting on his own personal accomplishments, even if those accomplishments linked him to two of the game's greats — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson.

Gregg Popovich yells. Nazr Mohammed, San Antonio's utilitarian center, listens. So does Tim Duncan, a two-time MVP. Manu Ginobili, San Antonio's rising star, pays attention, too. From superstar to sub, they all listen to Popovich, San Antonio's fiery coach. Sounds simple, players listening to irate coaches, but the NBA has seen coaches run off by star players that don't like that style or the coach's message. Yet, the Spurs have won two championships in nine seasons under Popovich and lead Detroit 1-0 in the Finals, with Game 2 tonight at the SBC Center.

He is the anti-Zo. Unexpressive on the court, seemingly dispassionate away from the game, Tim Duncan is to composure what Alonzo Mourning is to rage. Fluid with his moves, effortless with his offense, the San Antonio Spurs' 7-footer is to grace what the Heat center is to ungainliness. But most importantly, Duncan is here, in the NBA Finals against New York, while Mourning has been idle for a month after a first-round dismissal at the hands of the Knicks. Yes, the second-year center finished one spot behind runner-up Mourning in the vote for NBA Most Valuable Player, but in a referendum about poise, Duncan is considered among the league's most seasoned leaders.

Tim Duncan doesn't show his emotions very often. At least not in public. He prefers to play basketball -- and discuss it as well -- with a stone face and an assassin's cold heart to match. It is at once his greatest strength and, some believe, one of his few weaknesses. But if ever there were a night to let down his guard and let it all out, it was Sunday. He threw a right cross into the air after a three-point play, grabbed retiring teammate David Robinson by the jersey and exulted after numerous big plays in the sixth game of these flawed but entertaining NBA Finals.

Tim Duncan doesn't show his emotions very often. At least not in public. He prefers to play basketball -- and discuss it as well -- with a stone face and an assassin's cold heart to match. This is at once his greatest strength and, some believe, one of his few weaknesses. But if ever there were a night to drop his guard and let it all out, it was Sunday. He punched the air with a ferocious right cross. He put retiring teammate David Robinson in a bear hug as the final seconds wound down.

Q: Ira, isn't this series a defeat for Pat Riley vs. R.C. Buford more than Erik Spoelstra vs. Gregg Popovich? Riley just hasn't gotten the blame for failing to put the pieces together for LeBron James, even with the financial restrictions. He has always taken the easy way out and not taken the time to develop and scout like the Spurs. "Just go buy me some superstars and if it doesn't work, destroy the team and try again. " -- Howard, Palm City. A: Look, at times like these I can appreciate the frustrations.

For the past several years, the speculation has always been the same. Each year there is chatter about this possibly being the last run for the San Antonio Spurs. Each year, they laugh off the talk and return for another title chase. Even with the core on the downside of their careers, they have no immediate plans of it ending. As of now, retirement isn't an option. "We've been on our last run for the last five or six years from how everyone wants to put it," Spurs center Tim Duncan said.

Gregg Popovich didn't want to talk about milestones, not on this night. Neither, for that matter, did his power forward who on Thursday became the both all-time NBA playoff leader in minutes played and in playoff double-doubles. After the Spurs' 107-86 Game 4 win over the Heat gave San Antonio a 3-1 edge in the best-of-seven NBA Finals, Tim Duncan was more interested in looking forward than reflecting on his own personal accomplishments, even if those accomplishments linked him to two of the game's greats — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson.

The miracle they pulled off in Game 6 of last year's NBA Finals will have nothing on this if the Miami Heat end the season with another championship. They are going to need more than a Ray Allen desperation 3-pointer to extend this series. A whole lot more. The San Antonio Spurs continued making the Heat look confused on the defensive end in a 107-86 victory Thursday in Game 4 of the NBA Finals at AmericanAirlines Arena. The Spurs hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series, putting the Heat on the brink of elimination.

Throughout the postseason, Gregg Popovich hasn't been afraid to tinker with his lineups. The most recent adjustment came in Tuesday night's Game 3 of the NBA Finals when he inserted the versatile Boris Diaw into the Spurs' starting five in place of center Tiago Splitter in an effort to match up with the Heat's small-ball style of play. The move helped San Antonio put together one of the most memorable quarters in Finals history. Although Diaw had just two points in the game's opening 12 minutes, he had three defensive rebounds, an assist and a block.

That the San Antonio Spurs are in the catbird's seat in the NBA Finals because of a former La Crosse Catbird is not what matters most. What matters is that if it's not Continental Basketball Association castoff Jaren Jackson hitting the critical jump shots, someone else routinely has come through for coach Gregg Popovich's streaking team. With as imposing a power rotation as the league has witnessed in recent years, San Antonio still was no better than a five-games-and-out victim of the Utah Jazz in the second round of last year's playoffs.

Commentary by Ira Winderman and South Florida Sun Sentinel, June 9, 2014

The versatility, that's what always intrigued Chris Bosh, not being defined by his height. During his formative years in Dallas, well before Erik Spoelstra would allow him to expand his boundaries, Bosh looked beyond the post, for moments like Sunday, when his 3-pointer would reverberate beyond his two earlier dunks. "Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan," Bosh said in a quiet moment, away from the commotion of the Sunday victory that tied these best-of-seven NBA Finals 1-1 heading into Tuesday's Game 3 at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Just think about this statistic. The San Antonio Spurs played nearly an entire quarter without missing a shot. That's right, the Spurs didn't hear a "clank" for 11 minutes. It was the most telling number in the Spurs regaining control with a 111-92 victory against the Miami Heat Tuesday in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. They lead 2-1 in the best-of-7 series, heading into Thursday's Game 4 at AmericanAirlines Arena. "They came out at a different gear than what we were playing at," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, whose team had won 11 straight home playoff games.

Much has changed since Miami Heat veterans Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis first faced the San Antonio Spurs in the postseason. Allen and Lewis no longer play for the Seattle SuperSonics. They both have since won a championship. They are now in the twilight of their careers. All this change, yet one constant remains nine years after battling the Spurs in the 2005 Western Conference semifinals: They are still playing against Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker wearing the same silver-and-black uniforms.